Management
Children in Scotland's senior management team consists of the following people:

Dr Bronwen Cohen, OBE: Chief Executive
Bronwen Cohen joined Children in Scotland as Chief Executive in 1990 from the University of Edinburgh where she was a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Social Policy and Social Work. Prior to that she was Head of Policy and European Liaison at the Equal Opportunities Commission for Great Britain and from 1986 –1996 she was the UK Member for the European Commission’s Childcare Network, responsible for the Network’s examination of rural childcare and helping to develop the criteria for the use of the EU structural funds for childcare.

Her research has covered a variety of areas in social and family policy, including children’s services (with a particular focus on services and policies for young children), family policy, equal opportunities, rural development, Nordic welfare policy, additional support needs, race theory and theorists, workforce issues relating to children and young people and architecture and design for young children. Her doctorate was obtained from the University of Manchester in 1983 and examined the dynamic relations that exist between a society and its past, using the Shetland Islands as a case study.

Dr Cohen is a Visiting Professor at the Thomas Coram Research Unit at the Institute of Education at the University of London, a lay representative of the council of the Law Society of Scotland, member of the Scottish Advisory committee of the Equal Opportunities Commission and a member of the editorial board of the magazine Children in Europe (published in ten EU languages) She is a member of the Scottish Executive’s Expert Reference Group on Children, and the Scottish Executive’s Child Health Support group, and a member of the board of Fathers Direct. She is a member of the editorial board of the magazine Children in Europe and editor-in –chief of Children in Scotland. Her past appointments include the Scottish Executive’s Expert Panel on School Meals, the Scottish Childcare Board, the children and families committee of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Vice President of COFACE (the Confederation of Family Organisations in the European Union) She was also the the UK representative on the European Commission’s Childcare Network form 1985 – 1995 and is the author of numerous books, articles and reports.

Click here to see a selection of Dr Bronwen Cohen's publications [opens in pop-up window]

Dr Jonathan Sher: Director of Policy, Research and Practice Development
Jonathan was the President of the North Carolina Child Advocacy Institute (NCCAI) between 1995 and 2004. He stayed on as a Senior Fellow and Co-Director of the Leandro Advocacy Project (with Prof. Jack Boger of the UNC Law School’s Center for Civil Rights. Sher also served for several years as a Vice-Chair of the Covenant with North Carolina's Children -- a public policy coalition of 150 organizations representing approximately one-half million members across NC that has become the children's lobby at the state level. He was a longstanding member of the NC Child Fatality Task Force, NC Bar Association Section on Juvenile Justice and Children’s Rights, as well as other key state groups improving the well-being of all children and youth.

Before coming to NCCAI, Sher played the lead role in planning the $50 million Annenberg Rural Challenge -- a national school reform initiative. He has been a faculty member at both the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University (including Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies at NCSU’s College of Education and Psychology). Sher has served on numerous public and private sector boards and councils -- including the Ethics Committee at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill. Earlier in his career, Dr. Sher was the founder of REAL Enterprises, an organization working with high schools and community colleges across North Carolina (and more than a dozen other states) since 1986 to help students create their own jobs by creating their own businesses. Sher also was the Education Director at the Center for Community Change and the National Rural Center (both in Washington, DC). He also spent a few years as the head of international projects on rural education and community development for CERI/OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) based in Paris.

Sher received his master's degree and doctorate from Harvard University's Graduate School of Education, with an emphasis on rural development, education planning and social policy. Sher is the author/editor of two books, numerous published reports and dozens of articles/chapters in professional, academic and popular publications.

Lara Moir: Director of Corporate Services
Lara joined Children in Scotland in November 2007. Her biography will be appearing soon.